With a win on Saturday or Sunday, the Arizona Diamondbacks will be 10-2-2 in their last 14 series. Once 25-32 and potential sellers at the deadline, Arizona is red hot entering the final days of July, sitting a season-best four games over .500 and a game and a half back of the New York Mets for the top spot in the NL Wild Card race. The Diamondbacks have been especially hot over the past month, going 15-7 since a home win against the Oakland Athletics on June 29. The most significant difference for the Diamondbacks remains the ability to climb back into games, a staple of last year’s team that eventually earned the nickname “The Answerbacks.”
Arizona Diamondbacks: Amid Hot Streak
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Since the start of July, only the New York Mets have a better record than the Arizona Diamondbacks. Arizona owns a fantastic .806 OPS during that stretch while stealing 18 bases and hitting 32 home runs. The Diamondbacks, who struggled to answer scoring runs from opposing teams earlier this season, have morphed into a form of last year’s “Answerbacks.” In just the previous two games, the D-Backs have faced at least a two-run deficit heading into the sixth inning. After trailing the Kansas City Royals 6-3 heading into the ninth earlier this week, the NL West club scored five runs in the top half on the frame, eventually leading to a win for Arizona in the rubber match.
On Friday night, ace Zac Gallen ran into trouble early against the Pittsburgh Pirates, allowing two runs on two hits, a walk, and a hit by pitch in the first inning. Pittsburgh added another run in the second with an Andrew McCutchen one-out double. However, much aligned with the recent theme of Arizona Diamondbacks games, Arizona answered back with one run in the third before posting three runs in the sixth inning of an eventual 4-3 win. Arizona has quickly turned into a team that is never out of a game. Although they lost the final contest of the first half 8-7, they trailed by seven runs heading into the seventh.
The Snakes and Torey Lovello continue to receive massive contributions from stars Ketel Marte and Christian Walker. Still, Arizona’s turnaround can be attributed to the enormous assistance from some of their biggest disappointments from earlier this season. After hitting just .196 from Opening Day to the end of June, third baseman Eugenio Suarez has posted a gaudy 1.009 OPS and six home runs in July.
Young right-handed starter Brandon Pfaadt, one of the heroes from last season’s World Series team, has been nearly unhittable in July. In three starts this month, the former top-100 prospect is 1-0 with a 0.52 ERA in 17.1 innings for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
D-Backs: Rest of Season Outlook
With a solid finish to the 2024 season, the Arizona Diamondbacks can make back-to-back postseason appearances for the first time since the 2001 and 2002 seasons. Arizona will wrap up a three-game set with Pittsburgh this weekend before hosting the Washington Nationals during the final days before the MLB Trade Deadline. According to Tankathon, the Diamondbacks have the eighth-hardest schedule remaining in MLB. Meanwhile, New York, Atlanta, and San Diego, all of whom sit ahead of Arizona in the wild-card standings, have bottom 15 schedules regarding toughness.
On Thursday, the Arizona Diamondbacks added left-handed relief pitcher A.J. Puk via trade. Puk will slot into the backend of the bullpen while joining fellow lefty Joe Mantiply as the lone lefties available to Manager Torey Lovello late in ball games.
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